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Saturday, May 31, 2014

Wellington Brewery's Queen of Craft Women's Beer Series will hold it's final session this upcoming Wednesday, June 4th at the eBar, bringing together 10 influential women in the Ontario craft beer industry for a round-table discussion. Each woman will talk about her experience in the industry, guide participants through a beer tasting and answer questions from the audience. All proceeds from this series support Guelph-Wellington Women In Crisis.

The line-up of panelists includes:

Helen Sheedy - Territory Manager of Muskoka Brewery, discussing the opportunities for women in the craft beer industry.Carmen Vincente - Brewer and Sales for Bellwoods Brewery, discussing small-batch brewing and the secret of Bellwoods success.Shelley Biernes - Gilberston and Page, discussing home brewing basics.Crystal Luxmore - Beer Columnist and Certified Cicerone, discussing the trials and tribulations of working as an independent beer writer in a co-dependent craft beer scene.Sarah Dawkins - General Manager of Wellington Brewery, sharing stories from the top.Nicole Hynes - Owner and Founder of Sweetgrass Brewing, discussing the upstart of a microbrewery.Erica Campbell - Manager of Black Oak Brewing, Co-founder of the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies, discussing the importance of beer groups for women.Erica McOustra - Head Brewer at Steamwhistle Brewing, discussing large-scale brewing techniques.Robin LeBlanc - Award-winning writer and owner of The Thirsty Wench, discussing beer-blogging.Brandi Lee McDonald - Co-founder of the Because Beer Festival and Certified Beer Judge, discussing the world of judging beer, how-to and why?

"Any woman interested in a career in beer, or simply interested in expanding their beer knowledge will not want to miss this event!" -Karyn Boscariol, Wellington Brewery Event Coordinator and Queen of Craft Organizer

Queen of Craft: Industry Queens Round Table happens on Wednesday, June 4th from 7:00-9:00 PM at eBar (41 Quebec St). A limited number of tickets are still available for purchase from queenofcraft.eventbrite.ca

Friday, May 30, 2014

Next month, the Halifax Ladies Beer League (LBL) is celebrating their first anniversary by hosting a celebration for their supporters at The Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth on June 20th at 7:30 PM.

“We’ve come a long way since our first event at Garrison in June 2013” says LBL Founder Tracy Phillippi. “In the past year we’ve turned this great idea into a growing movement of women and men who are passionate about growing the craft beer scene in Nova Scotia”

Now organized by a team of five female board members, the LBL has many notable accomplishments including: Organizing Halifax’s first Cask Beer Festival, Brewing their own commercially available beer with Boxing Rock Brewing Company as part of International Women’s Day, And, hosting eight unique events throughout Halifax featuring many of Nova Scotia’s craft breweries. “There are women in Halifax who recently discovered their love of craft beer at our events, and that motivates us to keep going strong”, says Phillippi.

The LBL has also inspired similar female-run groups in Ontario, New Brunswick and Western Canada. According to LBL Board Member Lindsay MacPhee, "We continue to receive emails and phone calls from like-minded women who were interested in starting their own version or chapter of Ladies Beer League. It is absolutely encouraging to see how many women share the same passion we do."

As new breweries continue to open they are also encouraged by the presence of the LBL. Emily Tipton, owner of Boxing Rock Brewer agrees. “Growing craft beer in Nova Scotia needs people getting together to talk, learn and enjoy what is so great about craft beer, and that's just what the LBL does.. They help make it an exciting time to brew beer here”. Jeremy White, owner of Big Spruce, says “The LBL stands out among craft beer interests groups in their ability to organize and coordinate the promotion of craft beer awareness and enjoyment across Nova Scotia."

The LBL Birthday Party will feature one-off Cask-conditioned beer from North, Big Spruce and Garrison breweries. Unlike previous LBL events, there are no presold tickets the LBL Birthday Party & guests can pay as they go. “We are throwing a party for everyone who has supported us over the past year, as well as anyone who might have been curious but never attended”, says Pam Crouse, LBL Chairwoman. “We’d love to see everyone come out, even if just for a pint”.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

It's that time of the year again. Hale's has once again released a Barrel Aged Gold Rush, this time left UNBLENDED for your tasting pleasure!

Hale's Barrel Aged Gold Rush was released May 15th 2014.

Gold Rush is a stand-out ale on its own, with an aroma of cloves and tangerine from the French saison yeast and a floral hint of aromatic hops. While hops are apparent on the front palate, the sweet, spicy taste of a golden saison ale lingers on the tongue.

After being aged 14 months in whiskey barrels, the Barrel Aged Gold Rush takes this flavor to a whole new level. This ale is rich with mellowed spice, rounded out by a vanilla sweetness from the oak. Nicely balanced, this ale is meant to be sipped and savored.

"When we decide to barrel-age a beer, we normally have a clear picture of the end result. Certain characteristics of the barrels will compliment the nuances of the beer being aged in them. With the Gold Rush, we were truly experimenting-- we didn't expect the earthy, spicy nature of the Belgian yeast to blend so harmoniously with the vanilla, coconut, and tannin of the bourbon barrel. This beer is 3 years in the making and now we proudly present our happy experiment!" --Lincoln Zmolek, Hale's Ales Brewmaster.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Railway City have brewed their first Gruit and for those of you that do not know what a Gruit is, you are not alone. This is a beer style that is brewed using no hops, and was actually very common style during the medieval era.

According to Wikipedia: Gruit (alternately grut or gruyt) is an old-fashioned herb mixture used for bittering and flavoring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit.

Why did they brew a Gruit now? They are working with the Oxford Renaissance Festival in Woodstock, and the Gruit beer is perfect for their event.

They are also helping them come up with their own name for their Festival beer. They are holding a Nameth eBeer contest whereby they will be giving away some tickets to their festival. Visit www.facebook.com/oxfordrenfest for more details.

Railway City's Gruit pours a translucent golden straw with an ample, long lasting white head. On the nose it immediately hits with strong spice and woodsy note conjuring memories of sage, cumin, mint and menthol. Followed quickly by a malty sweetness with toffee. It's lack of hops may mean no bitterness, but certainly not in flavour, coming in with a thick and full body bringing a herbaceous and peppery blend of sage, rosemary, juniper and cumin, before finishing sweet with mango and pear.

Ontario craft beer will be feted across the province June 15-21 as part of the Ontario Craft Beer association’s OCB Week, and local brewery Beau’s All Natural will be a big part of the celebrations. Beau’s has planned more than 30 OCB Week events to take place over the course of the week, in 15 different towns and cities. Themes for the Beau’s-hosted events include Craft Beer and Food Pairings, Casks + One-offs, Craft Beer and Music, and Meet the Makers.

Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto will host many of Beau’s OCB week events, but there are also Beau’s-themed activities in other locales such as Burlington, Campbellford, Cornwall, Gananoque, Guelph, Kitchener, Oakville, Perth, Port Dover, Port Hope, and Vankleek Hill. Events include BBQs, beer dinners and food pairing evenings, tap takeovers (Beau’s beer on all draft taps), live music events, and numerous opportunities to meet the people from Beau’s. A full list of events can be accessed via the OCB week website (www.ocbweek.ca), and clicking on “Events.”

Toronto’s Session Craft Beer Festival June 13-14 will be the launch of Beau’s collaboration with Canadian novelists Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson; a gruit ale to be called MaddAddamites NooBroo. The un-hopped beer will be infused with a bouquet of herbs and botanicals inspired by Atwood’s latest novel. The beer is entered in Session’s Collaboration Nation contest. The winning beer, chosen by popular vote at the festival, will receive a listing in the LCBO. The beer is brewed in honour of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO), and will raise funds for their ongoing work.

Beau’s will also be launching its Pan Ontario 2014, an annual blend of barrel-aged or strong beers from Ontario craft brewers. This year’s blend will have Matt’s Sleepy Time Belgian-style Imperial Stout as its base, and will be topped up with Great Lakes Brewing’s Harry Porter (aged in bourbon barrels), Oust House Biere de Garde (aged in Canadian oak barrels), and Sawdust City’s The Princess Wears Girl Pants Belgian Golden Ale. Pan Ontario 2014 will be available at select restaurants and pubs as part of Beau’s OCB week events.

As a kick-off to OCB week, Beau’s will be offering Fathers’ Day Weekend bus trips to the brewery from Ottawa through Groupon. Buses depart Ottawa at 10 am, 12 pm, and 2 pm on both Saturday June 14, and Sunday June 15. Tickets are $10 ($25 value), and include a free pint glass, a tour of the Beau’s brewery, and 4 sample tickets. Food will be available for purchase both Saturday and Sunday; the beer-infused and inspired menu courtesy of Chef Bruce Wood includes pulled pork sandwiches with beer mustard on artisanal bread, apple slaw, and corn on the cob with chili butter. Tickets can be purchased starting Monday May 26 through Groupon.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch has officially announced that proceeds from the 2014 Glenfiddich 15 Year Old fundraising campaign will wholly support Can Praxis, Canada’s national leader in equine therapy for veterans and their families. The fundraising announcement marks the next chapter in their continued partnership with Wounded Warriors Canada, a not-for-profit organization that provides programs for wounded or injured Canadian soldiers and reservists. Glenfiddich donates two dollars for every bottle of Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera sold across Canada to Wounded Warriors Canada. In 2014 and beyond the funds raised will be used to benefit Can Praxis programming.

The announcement was made on May 21st at the historic Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta with Can Praxis Co-Founder, Steve Critchley on hand to receive the good news. The support of the Glenfiddich two dollar donation campaign will allow Critchley to continue to provide programs that improve the quality of life for veterans. Critchley commented on the announcement, explaining; “Glenfiddich's direct support of Wounded Warriors Canada and Can Praxis allows us to provide programs for veterans and their families at no cost to participants. This support is significant and ensures we (Can Praxis) are able to conduct innovative programs and provide proven help for those in need.”

While the Canadian Forces uses teambuilding, communications training and leadership development to prepare soldiers for war, Can Praxis uses horses to help soldiers recover from the effects of war and regain family relationships.

Glenfiddich began their partnership with Wounded Warriors Canada in 2012 after donating the proceeds from a record-breaking charitable Scotch auction in Toronto, Ontario. Since then Glenfiddich’s fundraising efforts have resulted in over $180,000 in support of Wounded Warriors Canada, including the single largest donation ever received by the not for- profit organization last year of $131,616. Glenfiddich chose to acknowledge and focus on the Wounded Warriors Canada supported programs of Can Praxis for 2014 because of a shared value between the organizations. Support for Can Praxis’ work to heal Canadian military families through pioneering and innovative programs came as a natural progression in Glenfiddich’s continued support for Wounded Warriors Canada and the emphasis on Family.

“When it comes to our ongoing partnership with Wounded Warriors Canada, we have and always will be guided by the philosophy of families helping families,” says Beth-Anne Thomas, National Brand Manager for Glenfiddich. “As a family-run distillery, we are thankful that our fundraising efforts in 2014 will directly support veterans and their families using pioneering equine-assisted learning methods. We couldn’t be more proud to welcome them into our family at Glenfiddich.”

Glenfiddich will present Can Praxis and Wounded Warriors Canada with the total amount raised through the 2014 fundraising campaign at a cheque presentation leading up to Remembrance Day later this year.